A Pilot Study of the Effect of Prehabilitation on Markers of Sarcopenia in Patients Undergoing Pancreatoduodenectomy for Malignant Disease

Cachexia is a hallmark feature of pancreatic cancer. Patients with features of cachexia have worse clinical outcomes. This includes a reduction in quality of life, reduced tolerance of therapy and a poorer prognosis . Specifically related to patients undergoing pancreatic surgery clinical evidence of cachexia is associated with higher perioperative complication rates. Sarcopenia, defined as a decreased muscle mass independent of fat mass, is a feature of the cachexia associated with pancreatic cancer. Patients with sarcopenia have progressive and generalised reduced muscle mass and function In patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer sarcopenia has been associated with increased rates of complication and worse survival . Treatment of sarcopenia is difficult but includes nutritional support and pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) aimed at reducing malabsorption. Whether measures aimed at combating sarcopenia can improve clinical outcomes following pancreatic surgery is currently unknown.

Prehabilitation is a multimodal therapeutic regimen aimed at improving the overall physical condition of patients prior to surgery with the intention of reducing the incidence of perioperative complications. Emerging evidence suggests that exercise prior to surgery for high risk patients scheduled to undergo major abdominal surgery improves aerobic capacity and can reduce the incidence of perioperative complications . The impact of prehabilitation undertaken prior to pancreatic surgery on perioperative complication rates has not yet been investigated.

The aim of this study is to assess whether prehabilitation supervised by an appropriate multimodality team improves indices of sarcopenia in patients scheduled to undergo pancreatoduodenectomy.